William Baker of WNEU School of Law says with trust, people can ensure care of their pets

Photo from WNEUWilliam Baker is a professor at the Western new England University School of Law.

SPRINGFIELD – You may not be as rich as Betty White or Leona Helmsley, but you can still set up a trust to care for your dog – or cat or horse or rabbit or parrot – after you are gone.

Don’t just assume your children or your friends will keep your canine or feline family member in the manner to which the pets are accustomed, says William Baker, professor at Western New England University School of Law.

Actually, don’t assume they will keep them at all, he warns. Instead, consider creating a trust. A new state law took effect in April to allow the formation of trusts for the care of pets after their owners’ deaths.

Setting up trusts for pets can also be a lucrative part of a law practice, Baker told an audience of students and others at a recent program on the subject at the law school. The event, hosted by the law school’s Animal Law Association, centered on the new law.

In his presentation, Baker cited the case of once-popular British singer Dusty Springfield, whose trust included having her cat Nicholas fed imported baby food and having her records played for him at his bedtime.

The average person, however, can get a lawyer to fashion a more modest trust.

Baker told the prospective lawyers they may not agree with their client’s view about animals, but “you have to be aware of their views and tolerate them.”

The concept of establishing care of pets after a person dies is normal, but viewpoints on the issue can be highly charged, according to Baker. He said he has heard the view that anyone who does not establish a trust should be put in jail.

Baker took the audience through the ins and outs of setting up such trusts, making it clear that pet owners should seek legal help.

For instance, he said he recommends there be a trustee appointed who is a different person than the caretaker, so the trustee can ensure the caretaker is doing the job.

Baker starts with a list of possible inclusions, such as what sort of “food, exercise, vacations, doggie school” the pet needs.

“If I’m getting a laugh I move away,” Baker said, adding that trusts must also address basic needs such as food, shelter and veterinary care.

Actress Betty White, who is also an animal rights advocate, reportedly included a provision in her will which will leave more than $5 million for the benefit of her pets when she dies, according to Baker.

New York Hotel heiress Leona Helmsley, who died in 2007, bequeathed the bulk of her estate, $12 million, to her Maltese dog Trouble. A judge later knocked down the dog’s inheritance to $2 million. Trouble died at the age of 12 late last year.

Lawyers will give pet owners more realistic sums that should be set aside, considering such things as life expectancy, medical problems and age of the pet.

“Dogs and cats don’t live very long,” Baker said, noting that owners should consider that in determining a reasonable amount of money to provide for their care.

“Of course, a tortoise can live for over 100 years,” he said, so that is an entirely different matter.